The Association of British Insurers and 32 of its members have put their names to Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter.

The move is part of an industry wide commitment to improving opportunities for Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues.

Organisations that sign up to the charter commit to appointing an executive sponsor for race; capturing data and publicising progress; ensuring zero tolerance of harassment and bullying; making equality in the workplace the responsibility of all leaders and managers; and taking action that supports ethnic minority career progression.

In addition, the ABI has also updated its internal inclusion strategy to create a new two-year plan.

The ABI wants to achieve an even male and female split across the its senior management population by 31st December 2022.

Recruitment longlists for senior management position must have an even gender split and the ABI will no longer shortlist candidates based on CVs. It is also introducing a blind recruitment process to do away with unconscious bias.

There will also be a new ‘speak up’ policy, a mentoring programme for junior colleagues with a range of backgrounds and cultural awareness training.

Huw Evans, director general of the ABI said: “Making our industry more representative of the customers we serve is vital, but we also need to focus on how we retain and develop talent and create the kind of inclusive environment that people want to be part of.

“Whilst we’ve made progress as an industry on issues like gender equality, we know overall that progress is too slow. It’s time to step up our efforts and it’s fantastic to see how many of our members have committed to taking action.”

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